


Cabin Fever

by be_aGoat_Instead



Category: Invader Zim
Genre: M/M, Multi
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2014-11-28
Updated: 2015-05-31
Packaged: 2018-02-27 07:17:23
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 4
Words: 11,257
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/2684096
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/be_aGoat_Instead/pseuds/be_aGoat_Instead
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Dib finds himself snowbound, in the company of two people he had never hoped to share a family vacation with.</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. Two Weeks Away

**Author's Note:**

> An RP between Pat-The-Kitsune on DeviantART, and myself, to be updated as we go. :3
> 
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Dib: Pat-The-Kitsune  
> Zim: Me
> 
> Invader Zim belongs to Jhonen Vasquez, (c) to Viacom.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dib: Pat-The-Kitsune  
> Zim: Me
> 
> Invader Zim belongs to Jhonen Vasquez and Viacom.

_“This is all your fault, you know.”_

_“SILENCE! Z-Zim has done nothing t-to cause this horrible d-downpour of frozen i-ice water.”_

_“Are you cold?”_

_“Guys, I don’t think now is the best time to be arguing over whose fault it is that we’re stuck in here. Looks like the weather’s picking up outside and we won’t be leaving this cabin anytime soon.”_

_*Sigh* “I guess you’re right. We should really be trying to figure a way out of here.”_

\----- 

Dib watched from his bedroom window as gray storm clouds rolled their way in over the town, threatening to cover everything in their wake with the soon to be blizzard that visited their home town for a few days every winter. He was certain it would happen any day now as he sat huddled in a blanket on his bed, letting a breeze slip in through a crack in his window pane and embrace him in the icy chill that came long before the storm actually arrived. Closing his eyes, he savored the uncharacteristically peaceful night and wondered how this solitude would fare with him leaving for two weeks early the next morning. 

Turning away from his window, he glanced to his packed bags sitting across the room from him, propped against a wall. School had let out just a few days prior and he couldn’t help but wonder what mischief his green nemesis might get up to in his absence. Seventeen years old now and a month to the day, Dib Membrane was just nearing the end of his junior year in high school. Soon enough he’d be a senior and expected to know exactly what he’d be doing next upon graduating from said educational establishment. 

He sighed as he recalled the talk his father had had with him about it just a few days earlier. Membrane had insisted he start researching colleges to attend and had even proposed a family trip be taken to achieve said research. Truth be told though, Dib honestly had no idea what he wanted to do after high school. Six years of chasing after Zim had left him paranoid about the future and what would become of the Earth were he to ever end his attempts at exposing Zim as the alien monster he knew he was. Despite the years of failed plots and schemes, he still worried incessantly about the day Zim would eventually manage to actually pull off a SUCCESSFUL plot for world domination. The mere thought had him feeling sick to his stomach as he couldn’t help but imagine the chaos that might ensue the second he left town.

Two full weeks away felt like a lifetime to him, but both Gaz and Membrane had gone to drastic measures to convince him otherwise. His father, the world-famous Professor Membrane, had even put a halt to his endlessly busy schedule, all for the sake of making this trip happen. It had been nearly ten years since the last time he’d taken his kids on an actual vacation, and he hoped with everything in him that this may be just the thing to break Dib of his insane obsessions with the paranormal. Gaz could care less about Dib’s ranting about aliens and ghosts and other paranormal phenomena however. For once, they actually had a chance to spend some quality time alone with their dad, something they only got to do once a year for as long as she could remember. To say the very least, she wasn’t about to let Dib ruin such a rare opportunity. 

Groaning to himself as he instantly regretted agreeing to go through with this trip, Dib stood from his bed to head down into his living room. The clock in there struck 11:45 p. m. just as he reached the bottom of the stairs and stood in the entryway nearest to the front door. He couldn’t sleep. Perhaps a late night stroll would put his mind more at ease about all this. 

Grabbing his trench coat and house keys, he dropped the blanket he’d been huddled in to the floor and stepped out into the pitch black night. The only things he could see clearly were the plumes of white mist shooting out from within his mouth upon exhaling warm air into the icy cold atmosphere and a line of street lamps strung along the sidewalks, seemingly pointing in the direction of Zim’s base. He wondered what the alien could be up to right now. Years of observing the other had taught him quite a lot about Irkens in general. For one, they didn’t require sleep, though that didn’t stop Zim from taking the occasional nap from time to time. Also, food was more a treat to them than anything else, their PAKs seeming equipped to provide them with all the nutritional intake they could ever need. 

He shuddered at the memory of the time he’d attempted to steal away Zim’s PAK. He’d been about twelve at the time, and it had nearly taken complete control over his body. Stepping away from his front door to approach the sidewalk at the end of his house’s walkway, he then began heading in the direction of Zim’s house subconsciously, his mind lost in a sea of thought, only brought back to reality by the flashing lights of one house’s still-functional Christmas lights. 

Looking about himself when he realized he’d let himself wander with no thought as to where he was actually going, he all too quickly came back to his senses upon realizing exactly where he was: the end of the cul-de-sac where Zim’s house was situated. Glancing at the ugly decorations adorning the equally ugly-colored purple and green house that belonged to his nemesis, he couldn’t help but shake his head at Zim’s attempt to make his house appear “normal” during the holiday season. It was the same setup every year.

Noticing that the lights were still on inside the house, he then wandered over to the opening separating the fenced in area. No doubt Zim was in his underground lab at this point in time, leaving Gir to watch cartoons up in the living room. He glanced at the gnomes on Zim’s lawn, “cleverly” disguised as elves currently. They turned their wide-eyed gaze on Dib and he panicked momentarily, uncertain as to whether they might open fire on him. 

Turning away from the house when they didn’t proceed to attack him in that moment, he then headed back in the direction of home, glancing back every few seconds until finally the other’s house was out of sight from him.

\-----

“Curses…” the Irken muttered, striking his fist against the image of some blueprints displayed on a monitor in front of him. “Minimoose, are you sure they are missing from the package?” 

The little robot replied with a muffled squeak, only the tips of its antlers visible over the lip of a box.

“Well, keep looking!” Zim snapped. “You’re probably sitting on them.” he growled, more to himself now than anybody else. 

“…Nyeh…” the squeak was despondent this time. 

Perhaps Gir could have eaten the parts he needed, but Gir had been locked upstairs to prevent such a circumstance. In any case, they were unaccounted for. The invader unclenched his fist and rubbed it down his forehead. The Caroler-Deterring Laser would not function without its two specified adaptor plugs. He could not afford the time it would take for a reorder of the parts he needed to arrive, and he had no Earth-monies to speak of, courtesy of a substantial, bathtub-sized amount of some revolting ‘eggnog’ substance belonging to Gir. 

“Think, Minimoose! There must be an alternate solution...” 

\-----

Although it was well after dark, the electric fence was down when Zim arrived at the Membrane household. He cast a furtive glance up at the window he knew to be Dib’s before sprinting across the yard to take shelter against the building wall. From the times he’d been in here before, he had a fair knowledge of where the father’s lab was located. The challenging part would be getting in and out without alerting anyone to his presence. 

Lasering an opening into the locked kitchen window, Zim climbed through it cautiously, smothering a startled yelp when he very narrowly avoided tumbling into the sink before lowering himself to the floor. He stopped in the kitchen doorway, looking and listening for any activity. Several curious objects heaped together in a corner of the room caught his notice. He crept a little closer and took a whiff of them. They didn’t seem hostile, or alive for that matter. When he shifted around to see them at a better angle, he realized they were bags of some sort. Were the humans going somewhere, perhaps far away? The Irken shrugged. He had priorities to attend to. 

Half an hour of scavenging the laboratory brought Zim no closer to finding anything even sufficiently promising. He exited in low spirits, leaving an array of heavy, sharp, and high-voltage equipment hastily pushed back into place. Pausing at the top of the basement stairs, he then peered up towards the ceiling. The upper story was off-limits as it housed the rooms of the Dib, his sibling, and supposedly the professor. He didn’t want to touch anything in the living room either. It would be best he left quickly at this point. Creeping to the front door, he quietly unlocked it and let himself out. 

The vehicle that was parked out on the street then caught the invader’s eye. He’d overlooked it before, hoping he could be in and out of the lab easily with what he needed…but although this contraption was primitive, it was probably a goldmine for parts. Approaching it tentatively and skirting around so it lay between himself and the house, he skimmed his hand over its surface. It seemed robust on first impression, but Zim knew better than to overestimate the strength of these things. The shell could be breached with a little force and firepower, though, given that he’d already come this far without being caught, it wouldn’t hurt to be subtle. He felt along the interconnecting grooves that bridged the segments of casing together, stopping to hover thoughtfully over one of the semi-opaque orange things on the rear of the structure. There was no better place to start. The Irken worked two claws into the grooves on either side of it and gave a firm tug. There was a little bit of give. Discreetly scanning the surrounding houses, he then extended two mechanical legs and pushed them into the narrow openings until the entire section popped loose. The several wires he found behind the casing were of only mild interest to him, but when he followed them to their source, his antennae perked excitedly under his coarse wig. A four-point adaptor plug! Victory! 

Zim removed the piece from its wires, placing it safely inside his PAK before then moving around to the identical orange section on the adjacent corner of the car. 

There was a faint smear of light in the east. The Irken moved more hastily this time. He had managed to pull three of the four wires out of the second plug when he stiffened at hearing a noise inside the Membrane household. Zim shoved the loose casing sections roughly back into place, wincing when the second produced a loud cracking noise. He pressed his back up against the car, chest heaving. The door to Dib’s house unlatched.

Zim whipped under the car, his breathing strained as heavy boots thumped their way up the path. He heard the vehicle unlock before something thudded into it, causing the roof above him to shudder unpleasantly. He pressed himself completely flat to the road, a chill from it seeping up through his uniform and reining in his attention for a split second. The Irken started slightly when the human began to hum something, and as the boots moved back toward the house, Zim saw a flash of white that he knew belonged to the coat of Professor Membrane. 

The front door shut and he sighed out, shakily. 

Rolling out from underneath the car, the invader was about to break cover and head for his base when the door reopened a second time. Looking around him for a place to hide, Zim realized the rear segment of the car had been left open. He leaped inside, tucking himself into the far corner behind a bulky object which he hoped would be enough to conceal him from sight. 

Upon noticing that the bulky item looked and smelled exactly like one of the bag-things he’d seen inside the house, Zim frowned.

\-----

“I’m going to warm up the car while you and your brother collect the rest of the bags…Where is he, anyway?” 

At 5:45 a.m., Gaz struggled out of the living room, a faded, worn, and dusty bag drooping close to the floor beside her. Given how heavy it was, she could only suspect that Dib had packed it, probably full of his ‘case files’ or some other spooky junk. Just this once, she had reason not to complain. At least he’d agreed to come – it wasn’t ‘family time’ to her father unless they were all there. Reaching the car, she swung the bag into the boot, where it caused the suitcase already inside to knock back against the far wall. She could have sworn she heard a stifled noise –something akin to a grunt - but it was too brief to discern, and given how anxious she was to get on the road, it didn’t seem worth her bother. 

Walking back into the house, she then shouted up the stairs to her brother. “DIB! Get down here now and take the last bag!” she demanded, annoyed that he was taking so long upstairs. 

Exiting the bathroom upstairs, Dib groaned at hearing his sister’s shout. “I’m coming, I’m coming.” he responded back in a less than enthusiastic voice, his eyelids drooping slightly as he’d barely gotten any sleep at all last night after returning home from his ‘midnight stroll.’ 

Making his way down the stairs to where the last and final piece of luggage sat waiting for him, he then stopped when a cold draft caught his attention, sending a small chill up his spine momentarily. Peeking his head into the kitchen where he could have sworn he felt the breeze coming from, he noticed the all too evident hole gaping back at him from the kitchen window situated just above the sink. 

“What the-?” 

He stepped into the room to have a look around, certain that hadn’t been there the night before. Had they been robbed last night when he was sleeping or out on his walk? Stepping into the living room, he then had a look around there as well, as though in search of anything that may be missing. How could anybody have gotten past their security system though? 

Running to the front door, he looked to see that the security system was still down. Perhaps HE had forgotten to turn it back on after returning home from his walk last night! Could it even be possible that somebody was still inside the house, just waiting for them to leave? 

“Hey, Gaz, I think our house may have been broken into last night.” he said before shifting his eyes from one side to the other, looking for anything that may be out of place or moved. There weren’t too many places a person could necessarily hide in their house, but still, the mere thought had the hairs on the back of his neck standing at attention, as though straining to pick up on any small sound or movement from the background. 

Gaz eyed him very suspiciously for a few seconds. Casting a sharp glare around at the room they were in currently, she then pushed Dib aside to move upstairs, shoulders tightened and fists clenched. In less than a minute, she was back down again. Irritated now, as well as impatient, she grabbed Dib roughly by the arm and jerked him in the direction of the front door. 

“Everything’s fine. No one’s there. Just come on, you’ve held us up long enough already!” she growled. She didn’t have time to be scouring the entire house for what was most likely a figment of Dib’s paranoia. 

“But, Gaz-” he began to say before falling silent upon receiving a rather icy glare from his younger sister. Glancing about the house one last time, he then sighed out heavily, knowing he couldn’t risk ruining this trip for Gaz when it’d been so long since the last time they got to take a real vacation with their dad. “...I guess you’re right. Maybe I am just being paranoid about things.” he said despite the still rather prominent sinking feeling he felt sitting within the pit of his gut. Of course, his fears of what Gaz may do to him were he to ruin this trip far surpassed any paranoia he had about any intruders possibly being within the house.

“I’ll bring the last bag out to the car now. Go ahead and wait outside with Dad.” he said before returning back to where he’d left the last piece of luggage. Lifting it with ease, he then made sure to turn back on the security system before casting one last glance back at their house. Everything else seemed secure enough as he headed down the walkway and chucked the final bag into the trunk before closing it. Yet another grunt was vocalized but became muffled and lost with the closing of the trunk door.


	2. A Stopover

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Here's chapter two. Thank you to the person who left kudos on this work. ^^  
> Hope you enjoy!
> 
> Dib: Pat-The-Kitsune  
> Zim: Me
> 
> Invader Zim belongs to Jhonen Vasquez and is (c) to Viacom.

Gaz was strapped into the front passenger seat by the time Dib entered the car, and it was only when Membrane pulled out into the road and they turned the street corner that she visibly relaxed. 

They rode in silence for the first hour, the sky growing lighter as dawn broke on their right side. Shops, then houses, thinned out before disappearing altogether as they reached the edge of the city where tough winter grasses and shrubs dominated the foot of the hills. Even this short stretch out of the confines of the town, there was a noticeable change. It wasn’t just that the sky was a slightly less dirty color; though, there was that. It was comforting. Even Gaz and Dad seemed at ease, the girl’s head propped in one hand as she looked vacantly out the window and a relaxed slant to their father’s shoulders as he drove.

It wasn’t until they were well into the ascent that it became apparent something was not quite right. An odd scratch and thumping sound was filtering into the car, beginning quietly in intervals at first, then growing more regular until everyone in the car was acutely aware of it. Membrane slowed down a little. 

“It sounds like something’s gone wrong with the car.”

Gaz gave a dry smile. “Probably one of Dib’s experiments escaped from his bag.” she commented, though she meant it as more a joke than anything else.

“There’s no need to make such accusations, Gaz! However, this may need to be investigated if it continues.”

Gaz grit her teeth at those words. “I’m sure it’s nothing, Dad.” she wasn’t keen on pulling over so early in the trip.

Continuing to drive about another half mile down the road, Membrane couldn’t help but frown when he felt the car give another jerk and shudder, the scratching noise only growing louder the further they went until finally the spaced intervals of sound had become a steady orchestra of crescendos and decrescendos.

“Hmmm...That’s definitely not nothing. I’m sorry, kids, but I’m afraid we’ll have to pull over just as soon as we’ve reached the next town over. Can’t continue driving with the car in such poor shape. Not to worry though! I’m certain whatever this is can be fixed in no time so we can be back on our way again shortly.” he tried to reassure his kids that it was nothing that would deter them from continuing their vacation. 

Leaning up against the side of the car door, Dib couldn’t help but sigh to himself, more concerned that this little detour might prolong the trip a day or more longer than it was already scheduled to be. Glancing out the window, he then noted how the clouds seemed to stretch all the way back home, the sun just barely reflecting through their gray veil. To him, it seemed they were heading in the direction those clouds had just come from. Chancing a glance back in front of them, he then couldn’t help but notice the lack of blue sky, most everywhere overcast, save for a few pockets where the sun just barely managed to peek through. He wondered if things would be like this for the entire trip, having never quite come out this far before.

The next town didn’t come into sight for another hour, during which everyone’s nerves were rubbed raw by the regular cacophony of rattles, scrapes, and thuds. The atmosphere in the car was strained, a grim silence between the three broken only by Membrane’s occasional comments of, “Not far now, kids,” and the scratch of Gaz’s nails against the inside vinyl of the passenger door. The landscape outside lost its original splendor and grew monotonous and indistinct, with each new hill rolling toward them only serving to coincide with a louder round of protests from the car.

They saw only one other vehicle, which appeared in the rear view mirror shortly after they passed a signpost indicating the town to be less than ten miles away. It was of little concern to them though right up until it started to push close behind, as if to urge them along faster. Driving slowly due to the damage to the car and the treachery of the terrain here, Membrane simply muttered under his breath. The driver veered to the side a little, found himself unable to pass them by on the narrow road, and honked loudly.

Unintentionally cursing out loud when the car behind them honked, Membrane glanced at the vehicle tailing them before speeding up just a bit more, frustration clouding his better judgment now.

Sitting up in his seat slightly when he felt the car accelerating, much to the car’s dismay, Dib watched as the road outside sped towards them at a less than pleasant velocity, tension hanging heavy in the air. He noticed the car behind them speed up to match their own speed before honking yet again. “Dad, maybe we should pull over.” he said when he saw Membrane’s grip on the steering wheel tightening.

Upon seeing a 5-mile marker for the town, the professor shook his head slightly and pumped the accelerator even more. “Nearly there, kids,” he wheezed out, but they could barely hear him over the hideous throes of the car. 

The driver behind them honked one final time.

“Have it your way, then!” Membrane shouted, causing both Dib and Gaz to start, his hands now suffocating the steering wheel. He hit the indicator switch and began to slow the car down. 

_SCREEE--_

The noise and the staggering impact that followed rendered all the car’s earlier protests obsolete. 

It also drowned out a muffled cry from the boot.

Shooting an arm out horizontally when he felt the car jerk forward as a result of the collision, Membrane braced himself against the steering wheel accordingly so as to act as an anchor for his kids, Gaz thankfully catching herself against her father’s arm before shooting back into her seat, shaken but unharmed. Unfortunately for Dib, he wasn’t quite so lucky, the sudden shock jerking him from his seat and causing him to hit his head hard against the ceiling of the car.

“Are you kids okay?!” Membrane asked just as soon as they had slowed to a complete stop, glancing first at Gaz and then Dib in the back seat.

Groaning as he sat up in his seat, Dib winced before bringing a hand up to hold the place where he’d hit his head, the first waves of a headache setting in. “I-I think so.” he said before glancing out the back window at the totaled car behind them. “Can’t say the same for our car though...or the car behind us.” he said before going to double over in his seat, his head pounding but thankfully not cut open or bleeding anywhere.

Gaz unbuckled her seatbelt and opened the slightly damaged passenger door, woozy after the impact but still acutely irritated. She placed a hand against the doorframe and squinted toward the back. “Dad…The other driver is getting out.” she said when she saw the silhouette of a man pushing open his own damaged door to step outside into the mostly isolated outside world.

Membrane sighed, unbuckling his own straps. “Stay with the car, kids. I’ll go and talk to him.” 

“If you say so...”

The driver was standing by the warped and busted front end of his vehicle, casting a vacant eye over the damage. His dazed expression changed to anger as the professor approached. “Just what do you think you’re doing, stopping without brake lights or indicators?!”

Membrane seethed. “I gave you fair warning that I was going to pull over! It seems more likely that you failed to look for yourself, especially given your attitude on the road just now!”

Gaz listened to them from her seat, one eyebrow raised. “He should’ve just let me deal with that goon,” she remarked quietly to Dib.

It was several minutes later that the loud voices ceased and Membrane stalked back towards the car. Arguing seemed to have expended the brunt of his anger, but there was still a definite furrow to his forehead as he propped an arm against the side of the car and looked inside. “Kids, I’m afraid we’re going to have to wait here for a tow truck. We may not make our scheduled vacation - yes, I know you’re disappointed, Gaz - but I’m sure we can still pack some fun into this trip. We’ll just have to make new arrangements. In the meantime, we may as well assess the damage and try to unload our bags.”

Slouching in her seat with a disgruntled sigh, Gaz looked away at her father’s words, trying to disguise her initial feeling of disappointment with a facade of general annoyance instead. Of course something like this just HAD happen during their family trip. That always seemed to be the case.

Sensing his sister’s struggle to keep her usually well-masked emotions in check, Dib was the first to get out of the car and start unpacking the bags from the back of the trunk, a small head rush slowing him down momentarily but not enough to prevent him from the task at hand. He opened the trunk with a small pop of the lock and went to remove the bag closest to the front. It was only then that something seemed to catch his eye: A boot sticking out with a leg still well situated inside it.

“What in the-” he went to reach for it before giving it a small tug, jumping back slightly when it moved, a small, all too familiar groan accompanying that movement. “Oh, hell no…” he said before going to move over the largest bag in there, said piece of luggage having been thrown around in the collision and knocked against the far back corner of the car.

Very much to his dismay, Dib was then met with sight of his most hated enemy, sprawled across the floor of the trunk and obviously disoriented with a few dents adorning his once egg-shaped PAK. It suddenly made sense to him why the car had started acting up and how they’d gotten into this mess in the first place. 

Glancing back at his father and sister still stationed at the front of the car, he then quickly went to grab the Irken’s arm when he began to sit up and flipped him over so he was staring Dib straight in the face now, his all too unimpressed glare startling the alien at first glance.

“Zim…” he began in a voice just barely above a whisper. “I’ll give you ten seconds to explain to me just what the HELL it is you’re doing here.” he said, his grip on the Irken only tightening more when the other attempted to pull back towards the very back of the trunk.

As much as he hated keeping quiet about his discovery of the alien inhabiting their car trunk, he knew his sister would kill him were she to find out Zim had been the cause of their initial car troubles, certain the blame would no doubt fall back on him as a result of his and Zim’s constant bickering over the years. Not to mention, it may look bad to the other driver were they to see him dragging another body out of the trunk of their car. 

Still in a daze, the disguised Irken, who was only a foot or two shorter than Dib now, tried to pull away again when he finally seemed to come to his senses more. Dib wouldn’t have it though as he merely dug his nails more into the arm his hand had taken possession of.

Zim hissed at the rough treatment, then bared his teeth and growled hoarsely at the human, attempting once to kick at him before finding this to be almost as useless as pulling against the steely grip on his arm. He stared Dib unsteadily in the face. By Irk, he felt queasy. He shook his head briefly and drew his brows into a glare that more-or-less matched up to his rival’s.

Ignoring Dib’s initial question he spat a somewhat slurred retort, flexing his free claw threateningly.“Release me, Dib-filth! I have something very important to attend to, and I don’t have time for-”

A movement in his visual periphery had him rapidly shifting his gaze to glimpse a second, unidentified human some way behind Dib. The ugly figure had its back to them and was skulking around by some wreck of a machine, which when he ignored several conspicuous mutations to its front end, closely resembled the one he was currently trapped in the back of. The glimpsed environment beyond was horribly blanched and sparse, and he didn’t recognize it one bit.

Zim paled, shooting a look back up at Dib before wriggling in his spot in an attempt to see around him and register more of their surroundings. His eyes grew wide before he turned a furious snarl on the human.

“What is this?!” he harshly dug the claws of his free hand into the wrist that was holding him captive. “This is not the city! Where have you transported us to, you repulsive and underhanded Earth-weevil?!”

 

It suitably failed to occur to him exactly whose fault it was that he’d ended up here in the first place.

Wincing slightly when Zim clawed at his wrist like a scared and trapped kitten, Dib almost immediately went to grab his other hand, forcing the alien down onto his back and leaning himself over him so he wouldn’t be able to resist any longer. The Irken stared up at him wide-eyed now, his view of the outside world completely eclipsed by the human holding him down and towering over him. 

“Are you insane, Zim! Keep making such a racket and somebody will hear you!” he said in a hushed whisper before peeking back around the car to make sure both his dad and sister were where he had left them. 

Returning his gaze back to the secured extraterrestrial a moment or so later, he then breathed out a heavy sigh before scowling at the Irken once more. “So are you going to explain to me just exactly what the hell it was you were doing in our car trunk? Or am I just going to have to tie you up and keep you hidden in my bag for the rest of our family vacation?” he said with a glance to his own bag, which he was certain the other could fit in were he to remove everything else from it.

The Irken didn’t answer, rather clamping his mouth shut and looking away with a pout on his face, much like that of a child. 

Rolling his eyes at the other’s reaction, Dib then released one of the Irken’s wrists so he could pull his bag over towards him and begin removing some of what he had packed. “You’ll have to stay hidden and quiet until we reach somewhere remote. Then you can call Gir or whoever to come and pick you up.” he said as he tossed his clothes into the trunk, figuring he could just buy some new ones later if he needed to.

No longer really paying much attention to the alien in question as he continued to rummage about in his bag, Dib barely had time to react when he felt the other’s free hand colliding against his face in the form of a fist now before the alien then began struggling again and attempting to pull free. He grabbed the alien’s free hand once more, the Irken letting out yet another high-pitched shriek of “Release Zim this instant!” before flailing about relentlessly.

Certain somebody would hear Zim if he didn’t find a way to shut him up quickly, Dib, on impulse more than anything else, then did the only thing he could think of to do in that moment to hush the little green menace: He locked lips with him. 

Covering the Irken’s mouth with his own, Dib squeezed his eyes tightly shut before praying to God that this would work, noting to himself all the while the shape and feel of Zim’s lips, thin but surprisingly welcoming at the same time. Feeling the other calm slightly beneath him, he then peeked a single eye open before realizing exactly what it was he was doing to the other and pulling away with a gag, his face burning with embarrassment and heart pounding with excitement despite all his racing mind’s rationalizations for it.

“I-I told you to pipe down already. O-Or would you rather I got my sister to deal with you instead?” he broke the silence once things had suddenly become uncomfortably muted, the entire world seeming to have slowed down and stopped in that moment as he glanced back at the now shell-shocked Zim.


	3. Baggage

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Dib: Pat-The-Kitsune  
> Zim: Me
> 
> Invader Zim belongs to Jhonen Vasquez and Viacom.
> 
> Hope you enjoy!

The Irken’s chest heaved as he looked up at the human, struggling for a moment to comprehend what had just passed between them. In the silence, he was uncomfortably aware of a change in his captor’s demeanor, as well as several other new sensations in his own body. His ‘spooch’ was thumping, much too fast, he could feel a pulse in the back of his skull, his mouth was horribly dry, and he realized, with some disgust, that his tongue had lolled out in surprise. He flicked it back into his mouth and bared his teeth again, trying to regain some scrap of composure before taking a sharp breath in to respond to Dib’s threat.

Zim knew what a kiss was and he also knew that enemies did not kiss. By this reasoning, Dib’s actions had been an attempt to lower his guard and meant nothing more, which was not to say that the filthy worm wouldn’t suffer dearly for it later.

“You wouldn’t _dare_ call your-“ 

“DIB! What the hell is going on over there?!”

Zim became rigid at the sound of the hated female’s voice. Antennae flattening under his wig, he glanced around briefly in search of an alternate escape, but his human captor remained unbudging, evicting any hope of useful movement or even a clear view of his surroundings. A bead of sweat formed on the invader’s brow and he turned back to Dib, narrowing his eyes.

“Release me,” he hissed. “I’ll get in your stinky bag.”

The human made to pull away for an instant but then hesitated, regarding him dubiously. “Will you?”

Zim nodded as best he could, letting his arms relax in the other’s grip, though the scowl remained graven onto his face.

Dib sighed. “Good...Thank you, I guess.”

Feeling the pressure on his arms release, the Irken scooted out from under Dib and grabbed the open bag with a disgusted sneer. Wriggling his way inside and zipping the top halfway over himself, he then peeked one eye out at the human. “And later on, I’m going to remove your hands for daring to touch Zim.”

He saw Dib roll his eyes skyward before darkness replaced his view of the boy as the zip was fastened all the way up. Zim prodded and sniffed around him before deciding that the environment was too cramped and unpleasant in smell to evoke much curiosity from him. He shut his eyes, hoping to conserve energy that he’d surely need for later.

Not surprisingly, he found himself unable to settle however. Aside from the heavy stillness and the sense of anxiety that came naturally with being stuffed into a small space that stank of must and rats and his worst enemy, two new sensations niggled at the Irken’s mind: an eerie crackling that seemed to emanate from within his PAK and a lingering visual imprint of Dib’s unusually red and flustered visage.

Hoisting the bag with his adversary in it up out of the trunk and onto his shoulders, Dib faltered momentarily before steadying himself against the bumper of the car, standing up as straight as he could in that moment. To say the very least, he felt sick to his stomach, the throbbing in his head only becoming worse now with the discovery of their previously unbeknownst stowaway. To his surprise, the small green alien was heavier than he expected as he struggled to unload the rest of the luggage from the trunk before returning back to where he’d left his father and sister.

Gaz spared him an icy scowl upon his return. “Took you long enough.” she muttered before casting the vacant road a rather listless gaze, her eyes straining to make out any signs of life coming from afar. 

Going to take a seat down on the cold pavement next to the passenger door, Dib merely sighed out again and placed the bag with Zim in it directly next to him on the side of the road. For a second, he thought he may become ill, his heart still racing with adrenaline and nerves quaking with anxiety. Of all the things he could have done to shut the Irken up, why had THAT been his first instinct? He groaned again and doubled over in his spot, wishing to be struck down right then and there and put out of his misery. It was only when the distant rumble of the tow truck approaching broke him out of his current thoughts that he finally looked back up to see a rather clunky-looking vehicle inching its way along the narrow road towards their current location. 

“About time they got here.” Gaz commented before standing to retrieve her baggage, Dib and Membrane following soon after.

“You folks the ones who called about the collision?” the tow truck driver asked upon slowing his truck down to a complete stop and peering out through a crack in his opened window.

Membrane stepped forward with an affirmative nod. “Yes, that would be us. We’ll need our car towed to the next town over for repairs, preferably close to somewhere that can offer us lodging for the night.” he said before then casting his kids a quick glance and noting the somewhat sour expressions plastered on their faces. “Uhh...Make that somewhere nice, if possible.” he then added, determined to keep his promise of making this trip fun for his kids, regardless of the price. 

The tow truck driver merely nodded his head before pointing a thumb to the seats next to him in the front compartment. “Alright. Hop on in then. May be a bit of a tight squeeze for now, but there’s a pretty nice winter resort not too far from here I can drop you all off at. And your car can be transported to a garage just a few blocks away from there.” he said before getting out of the car to survey the damage for himself and speak with the other driver.

Eyeing the front of the tow truck with a rather unimpressed glower, Gaz was the first to approach the rusty exterior of their rescue vehicle and pull herself up into one of the front seats next to the driver’s seat. “Well, are you two just going to stand there all day or get in already?” she shot an agitated glance towards her father and Dib, both of whom hesitated to squeeze in next to her.

Not so certain there’d be enough room for him to fit the bag with Zim in it next to him, Dib bit down on his bottom lip before finally climbing in after her and holding the bag in his lap, very much to his and Zim’s dismay, he was certain. 

Membrane followed shortly after, pulling closed the door behind him before glancing back at a second row of seats situated directly behind the ones in front. He sighed in some relief. If nothing else, at least they wouldn’t have to be strapped in next to the other driver they’d had the collision with.

Said driver entered the cabin behind them, casting a wordless glance at the professor but quickly occupying his attention with the seat buckles when Gaz shot him a very dark look in return. The tow truck driver joined them a few minutes later, having secured the two cars firmly onto the back of his vehicle. First checking to make sure everyone was strapped in, he then turned on the engine, which produced a sound that made Dib, Gaz, and Membrane all automatically cringe.

As the vehicle crawled its way along the road into town, the truck driver attempted to make conversation with his passengers, pointing out the tavern, shops, the mechanic’s station, and some of the ‘better’ places to eat.

“Of course,” he added as they turned off the main thoroughfare and into a side street, “The place we’re going should take care of your needs for the night.”

Only Membrane attempted a cheery response back, the man behind them mumbling something inaudible as Gaz and Dib kept their gazes fixed on the street outside. 

Though it was approaching lunchtime, there were few people to be seen around, those few being bundled into thick winter clothes that largely hid their faces from view. A persistent yellowish fog grazed the rooftops, indicating how high they were into the hills now.

After another twenty or so minutes, the truck finally shuddered and choked to a halt outside a wide gateway flanked by two stone posts, where a tree-lined driveway was visible beyond. 

“Alright, this is your stop.” their driver informed them. “Just follow the road and reception is about a ten minute walk up the hill.”

Membrane offered his thanks and a generous tip to the driver before moving to open the cabin door, climbing down and hoisting his suitcase out. “Let’s go kids, just a little further from here.” 

Gaz retrieved her bag from under the seat, turning impatiently on Dib when he struggled to maneuver out of the truck with the large backpack on his lap and finally jabbing him sharply in the ribs to get him to move, which he did, jerking in the direction of the open door - too far - and spilling out right over the edge. Gaz winced momentarily upon hearing a heavy thud and a (perhaps suspiciously) muffled groan. Jumping out after her brother once she was sure he’d had enough time to find his feet on the ground, she then donned her own bag and trudged over to where their father was standing by the gate. 

Looking back when Dib didn’t immediately follow, she frowned upon seeing him propped against the side of the vehicle, grimacing in some sort of pain as he fumbled to adjust the large pack back onto his shoulders.

“Gaz, perhaps you should go and help your brother,” Membrane suggested, also noticing Dib’s struggle, though having failed to account for his fall out of the truck.

Gaz glanced at her father uncomfortably before furrowing her brow and marching back over to Dib. She wasn’t prepared to stand around here until sunset waiting for her older sibling to sort himself out, after all; especially given that she was quite keen to put the dirty rescue truck, and the other driver from the crash, behind them. Clearing her throat, she shrugged off her own backpack.

“Hey, Dad wants us to swap loads.” she lightly kicked her bag in his direction.

Blinking down at the bag kicked unceremoniously towards him, Dib stiffened in his spot before lifting his gaze to send her what could only be described as a rather horrified look, all the color having drained from his face at this point and left him a rather pale ghost white. The side of his mouth twitched momentarily as he then attempted to send her a weak smile in response. “N-No need for that. I got it.” he said before hoisting the heavy bag with the hidden Irken in it up onto his back and charging ahead of his sister to prove he was fine. The last thing he wanted was for Gaz to discover exactly WHY his bag was currently so heavy.

Noticing his sister roll her eyes at his refusal out of the corner of his eye, he then couldn’t help but sigh out in relief when he saw Gaz go to pick up her own bag again and follow behind him, her eyes boring holes directly into the back of his head as the trio made their way up the resort driveway and towards the front reception area.

To say the very least, the place seemed quite large and spacious, a few modern-looking cabins dotting the perimeter of the main establishment, which they found situated far from the main road, making for a rather serene environment. Upon entering the main lobby, they were almost immediately greeted by a vast reception area, well-lit and lined with linoleum tiles everywhere. The very center of the room held a large fountain with sheets of cascading water as well as several comfortable-looking arm chairs for residents to relax in and even order drinks from. Dib glanced about the place in some awe, just trying to take it all in. Never in his life had he ever encountered a place quite so fancy as this, the almost silent hustle and bustle of resort employees seeing to their guests in the main lobby leaving him at a loss for words. 

“May I help you?” a feminine voice broke the quiet as they approached the front counter, currently being monitored by three separate receptionists.

“Ah, yes.” Membrane stepped forward to speak with the woman who had addressed them, explaining their current situation to her.

Turning away from his father as he went into some detail about how they’d come to arrive there before inquiring about a room, Dib cast the lobby yet another look over before a somewhat familiar-sounding voice coming from somewhere nearby caught his attention.

“Will that be all you’re having today, sir?”

“Yes, thank you.”

“Alrighty, then! Your drink will be out in just a few short minutes.”

Dib spun around to try and locate the origin of the voice, momentarily catching a glimpse of orange right as a resort employee turned to leave a table where a rather well-dressed businessman was currently working at his laptop. 

“That voice...It couldn’t be...” 

Tilting his body to one side slightly to try and and get a better view of the employee who had just taken the man’s order and who was currently walking with his back to him, Dib took a step forward as though to follow behind him before being jerked back to reality when his father’s voice broke him out of his concentrated gaze.

“Wonderful! If that’s the case, then we’ll take one of the private cabins you have available on the premises.”

“Very well then, sir. Your cabin will be stationed just a short ways down the east road from here. Cabin 403.” the receptionist went to enter their information into a computer in front of her before fishing out three separate keys for the threesome to share. “The east exit is right over there. And our main lobby is open 24/7, as are its amenities. Are you in need of any assistance carrying your bags out to your condo?” she then asked after pointing out the exit they needed to take. 

The professor hoisted up his case from where he’d let it rest on the floor. “My daughter and I can manage. But perhaps my son could use some help with his.” he looked to Dib, who shook his head, mumbling a quick refusal and clutching the straps of his bag tightly when an attendant approached him to offer help.

“That’s the spirit, son! We’re fine then, thank you.” Membrane replied to the attendant, who instead moved to open the specified door for them as Membrane hauled up his suitcase again and led his two kids back out onto the path.


	4. Consequences

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Chapter 4. Enjoy :)
> 
> Dib: Pat-The-Kitsune  
> Zim: Me
> 
> Invader Zim belongs to Jhonen Vasquez/Viacom.

Just as the town had been largely deserted when they’d passed through it, there were scarcely any patrons to be seen around here, save for the odd guest out on the deck of their cabin and a couple seen heading down an adjacent road, which a sign marked as leading to some recreational halls nearby. In spite of the persevering cloud cover, they were able to catch glimpses of the true size of the grounds here, which stretched nearly a mile north to where higher slopes were visible in the distance. In the right winter conditions, these slopes would be swarming with people, shuttled up the ridge by a network of cables visible now as stationary, dark veins clinging to the hillside. The place as a whole had its own crisp and clean atmosphere, and the path they were on looked to have been recently paved.

Cabin 403 left little room for disappointment. As Membrane’s key turned in the lock, the pilot lights and heating instantly whirred to life inside. Gaz was the first to put down her luggage and begin exploring their new accommodations. They found the lodge to be sizeable overall, though built in a closed-floor layout that would allow it to heat more efficiently in the worst of winter. Looking over the details with approval, Gaz couldn’t deny that it was probably better-kept than any residence in their home city. It was not only clean but equipped almost in surplus, down to a large map of the resort grounds framed on the kitchen wall. An exterior deck could be accessed through the kitchen as well, looking out onto a shallow, shrub-filled valley.

“Alright kids, when you’re ready, go pick out your rooms. I recommend you take either of the two down the end of the cabin across the living room. But you’ll have to decide between yourselves.”

Gaz looked sideways at Dib, replying, “You got it, Dad,” before grabbing her luggage and moving off to look over the rooms at the east end of the cabin.

Following close behind his sister as she proceeded to investigate each of the two rooms recommended to them by their father, Dib, meanwhile, cast the kitchen exit a momentary glance before continuing his trek across the spacious but cozy living room to have a look at the two additional bedrooms left for him and his sister to occupy. To his surprise, they were both rather large, the one situated on the left side featuring a sizeable, wide-screen TV fastened to the wall just above a dresser sitting opposite the bed.

“Hmm…” he seemed to consider its proximity to the kitchen before moving on to examine the second bedroom, positioned directly across the room from the first one.

“I think I like this one.” Gaz said once she had a chance to peek inside the bedroom Dib had just exited from, the other bedroom bigger in comparison but lacking in the technology that this one possessed. Rather, the bedroom to the right of the living room consisted of a built-in fireplace as its focal point as well as its own walk-in bathroom, serving as one of the only two bathrooms this cabin had to offer.

What really caught Dib’s eye upon further inspection of the room in question though was neither the fireplace nor the walk-in bathroom, but rather, the sliding glass door serving as an emergency exit in the event a fire broke out, preventing him from escaping back out into the living room. He smiled to himself relieved before tossing the bag with Zim in it down onto the bed and leaning out the door.

“Fine by me.” he answered back before closing the door behind him and locking it with a sigh. With an exit to the outside world more readily available to him, it would only be a matter of time now before he could rid himself of Zim’s presence and return to the car to pick up his belongings from its trunk where he had left them.

Turning his attention back to his bag, he then proceeded to unzip it for the other, the Irken emerging from it with a gasp and panting out all too melodramatically.

Dib rolled his eyes at this before moving across the room to open the sliding glass door for him. “Feel free to call Gir and leave whenever you feel like it.” he said with a hint of sarcasm lacing his words. Certainly the other could handle things from here on his own, and he doubted it would take Gir any more than an hour to arrive there. The sooner Zim left though, the better. His cheeks lighting up a bright pink again at the memory of what he’d had to do in order to shut the other up, Dib stood rigid with his gaze locked onto the polished, wooden floor beneath him. He couldn’t get the thought of how Zim’s lips had felt against his own out of his head, nor the fact that his first kiss had been shared with an alien, a male alien even, and his worst enemy to boot.

The Irken kept a wary look fixed on Dib as he slid off the bed. The boy seemed to be preoccupied for the moment, no doubt with something trivial; nevertheless Zim gave him a wide berth as he made his bid for escape. When he reached the open exit and looked out, however, an immediate chill washed over him and he stopped dead in the doorway, some warning instinct preventing him from setting foot outside. He could still feel an unusual vibration in his PAK, and the memory of being thrown hard against the inside of the car made him cringe momentarily. He still felt weak in the legs after everything that had occurred in the past two hours. Zim dug the fingers of one hand into the jamb of the door, the resulting sound of wood fibres crackling not calming him so much as serving to increase his discomfort. He should feel far worse about being in an unfamiliar room with his arch nemesis than going outside, especially given the other's earlier foul advance, but somehow this seemed like a terrible idea…

Zim clenched his jaw and uttered a small groan, remaining rooted to his spot.

Dib made an awkward coughing noise behind him.

“D-Don’t think I can’t see what you’re trying to do, Dib!” Zim blurted, turning all of a sudden to glare at said human. “You want me to either go out and be eaten by some horrible animal-beast, or call Gir from here and risk the exposure of my PAK technology to your hands…” he stormed up to his rival now, jabbing a finger into Dib’s collarbone. “Well, I think not! If you want Zim to return home, you’ll have to leave the room first. And go...very far away.” the Irken crossed his arms over his chest, though he couldn’t help but fidget a bit where he stood, uneasiness split between the proximity of his rival and the cold draught he could feel from outside.

“What?! Oh, come on, Zim! Nothing is going to attack you out there! And you really think I’d prefer to keep you here after what happened earli-” Dib began to say before flushing up considerably and looking away quickly, not having meant to bring up what was currently on his mind. “I mean...Haven’t you caused enough trouble for one day?! You already single-handedly managed to ruin what was sure to be a rather ‘eventful’ family vacation for us.” he rolled his eyes despite the obvious sarcasm leaking out from his voice. “If you want to call Gir from in here, then just do it already. I have no desire to capture you at the moment. I just want you out of here ASAP before Gaz and my dad find out what REALLY was the cause of all our car problems.” he said, sending the Irken an all too pointed glare before crossing his arms and remaining firmly rooted in his spot, if not to annoy the alien then to prevent him from having any further contact with his family for the time being.

“It’s your choice. Leave now with me in the room or remain hidden in this room for the remainder of our vacation. Either way, I’m not taking my eyes off of you until you make a decision. Given the circumstances, you’re obviously not to be trusted alone. _As if that weren’t obvious enough._ ” he thought the last part to himself, certain the other must have been up to no good when he wound up in the trunk of their car.

“Don’t think for a second that I actually want you here either, because trust me, I don’t. You’re a pain in my ass to deal with. But the only way I’ll be able to rest at ease at this point is if I actually see you head home with Gir with my own eyes. I can deal with whatever messes you make when I get back.” he scoffed, certain Zim would attempt to pull something in his absence but not convinced it would be anything of earth-shattering magnitude like he used to think in the past.

Years of foiling the other’s plans had inevitably led him to the conclusion that the Irken wasn’t very good at his job, given how often his schemes ultimately seemed to backfire on him. It had almost gotten to a point where he didn’t even really feel the NEED to intervene any longer, though he still did as a means of giving himself something to do in his spare time and putting his underlying paranoia to rest. The fear of what his sister might do to him were she to find out Zim was there though was more than enough to prevent his paranoia from surfacing for the time being. For once in his life, he was actually more afraid of having Zim in his sights than he was of leaving him alone back home.

“HOW DARE-” Zim shrieked, before realizing that Gaz was probably in the building with them right now and quickly lowering his voice several notches. “-How dare you blame Zim for your own family-oriented misery?! I never asked to be here either, and don’t attempt to vilify Zim after you yourself made such a vile advance…” he indicated to the human’s lips to clarify his point, then stepping back as though to size the other up. “And on that note, I’ll have you know that I fully intend to keep my promise of removing your hands. I would do so right now had I the time and facilities. But as it happens, I have more important things to attend to, vastly more so, and I need to go home for that.”

It was awfully clear that the human was determined to stay put for as long as he saw fit, which more or less erased the possibility of Zim making use of this shelter while he waited for Gir. Whether Dib would be true to his claim that he had no intention of dismantling him was up for debate in the Irken’s mind; however, the human’s rude, dismissive attitude simply could not be brushed off. Braving the conditions outside suddenly seemed like a very minor matter compared to the risk of alerting more humans were he to make good on his threat to the boy now. Not to mention, he did have vital work to be getting on with. Fighting with Dib would only extend the delay.

But...He wasn’t quite so desperate that he’d think of going out without any sort of protection. Zim took his eyes off his rival to scan the room for material that might be of use. The bedcover and curtains were the only obvious contenders, but both looked far too cumbersome to suit his needs – and with a bad-tempered Dib in the room, it wasn’t worth the risk trying to get either of them loose.

Spying the open door of the en suite bathroom, Zim paused momentarily before shoving past Dib, ignoring the boy’s startled protest, to look inside. Finding a small linen closet and emptying its contents onto the floor, he pulled a large towel out of the pile. While being no Vortian-made armor, it would surely afford him at least enough weather-protection to contact Gir and get out of this place. Stepping out past Dib again and making for the sliding door, Zim wrapped the towel tightly around himself, the action restoring his confidence significantly as his makeshift armor blocked out the worst of the draught.

Looking back at Dib as he reached the outer doorway, Zim then stuck his tongue out at the human. “Be seeing you ‘round, stink-beast. Enjoy the use of your gross hands while you still can...Also, you can expect to find everything you know and love in RUINS by the time you return,” he added. “Because I’m very good at destroying things, you know. I can destroy planets AND pitiful, human outings.” the Irken let out an ironic laugh before turning on his heel and disappearing, with the tiniest of shivers, out the door.

Narrowing his eyes on the Irken even more as he went to exit the building, Dib couldn’t help but roll his eyes for what was probably the hundredth time that day before going to close the sliding-glass door behind Zim, figuring he could just watch the other from inside the room without having to actually follow him outside into the cold. As he reached for the groove serving as the glass door’s handle though, he suddenly stopped in his tracks and braced himself against the door’s edge, a small bead of sweat rolling down the surface of his skin, which had become nearly a ghost-white now. He wanted to retort with a sharp-edged response back to the other but suddenly felt as though he’d lose his lunch were he to even open his mouth in that moment. Wrapping an arm around his abdomen as that all too familiar feeling of nausea overcame him again, he then grit his teeth.

He’d almost forgotten about his earlier headache, which seemed to throb relentlessly now just behind his eyes. For a moment, he saw his vision blur, causing his fingers to grip at the door even more for support before trembling against the door’s frame. Nonetheless, he forced himself to lift his head and continue watching after the other with a small scoff. “Jerk.” he muttered just beneath his breath, a small stream of mist shooting out from his mouth before disappearing into thin air. As soon as Zim left for good, he’d take a nap and just try to sleep off the day’s unwanted events. When he saw his vision blur a second time however, he couldn’t help but slump to his knees in the doorway, his balance having felt off since exiting the car earlier. At first, he assumed it to be only the cause of having Zim stuffed inside his bag, but even now, his body still felt unbearably heavy and off-kilter.

Bringing up a hand to place against his face, Dib couldn’t help but groan in discomfort before attempting to force himself back up onto his feet, not wanting to risk appearing weak in front of the Irken should he turn back around at any point. Taking a step out onto the wooden deck just outside his room, he then decided to just watch the other from there instead, hoping some fresh air would help clear his head and put his stomach more at ease.

Having taken refuge underneath the balcony of an empty, nearby lodge and sitting hunched beside one of the brick supports, Zim risked a peek back at Dib’s cabin, where he could see Dib emerging out onto the deck that he’d just come from. Obviously attempting to spy on him. A devious thought crossed the invader’s mind, and for an instant, he wished he’d hidden under Dib’s porch so he could slip in behind him and lock the human out of his own room. An amusing idea, but there’d be nowhere for Zim to go after that, would there? He shrugged and chuckled quietly. It was time to go to work, and he didn’t trust his towel to keep the cold at bay for all that long.

_“Open communications line with Gir._ ” he ordered over a neural link to his AI brain.

Rather than issuing him a mouthpiece, his PAK made an eerie, whining sound in response. Zim felt an odd prickling in his limbs for an instant as it seemed to struggle with the message. After a few seconds came the reply, _“Unable to process request at this time.”_

The Irken frowned, chewing his lip in frustration. The damage he’d taken in the car might have been more extensive than he first believed. Either that or his AI had learned cheek.

“Open communications with Gir, _please_.” he tried again, out loud this time.

This time the prickling was accompanied by a short spell of dizziness that caused him to sway for an instant, the towel slipping out of his grasp and onto the hard, dirt ground.

_“Cannot complete request. Mechanical trauma is impairing communications function.”_ the AI beeped.

Zim threw a punch at the underside of the deck above him, which barely rattled the thick beams and instead caused wood dust to float down and settle in the Irken’s wig. Pressing a hand to his forehead to try and ground himself, Zim fumbled to pick up the towel with his other hand and then wrapped it tightly back over his shoulders, staring sourly down at the bits of pale grass by his feet as he tried to contemplate what might be his next course of action.


End file.
